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In 1719, Jose de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo (d. 1734), replaced Martin de Alarcon as Governor of Texas. His appointment coincided with war between Spain and France which prompted Aguayo to send an expedition to East Texas to secure its border with Louisiana. He renamed the province Nuevas Filipinas (New Philippines) to emphasize Spanish jurisdiction over the territory. He requested Father Felix Isidro Espinosa and Father Antonio Margil de Jesus to join the expedition in order to reestablish the six previously abandoned Tejas missions. Then in 1721, Aguayo marched from his headquarters in Monclova with 584 soldiers, missionaries and caretakers to East Texas. The entrada was the largest ever to occur in Spanish Texas. During the expedition, Aguayo allied with native groups, including the Rancheria Grande and Caddo. On July 25, 1721, Aguayo met with the leader of the Hainai and his interpreter Angelina, who pledged loyalty to him and Spain. When Aguayo neared the missionary fields at the Neches River, Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, new commandant of the French fort Saint Jean Baptiste, requested a meeting with Aguayo. St. Denis informed the governor that war between the two nations had ceased. With this new development, Aguayo pressed St. Denis to abandon his invasion of Texas. St. Denis withdrew and Aguayo began to reestablish the missions. In addition to Presidio Dolores, he added Presidio Nuestra Senora del Pilar de los Adaes, a fortification only fourteen miles from the French outpost of Natchitoches. Aguayo's performance as governor reaffirmed Spanish supremacy in Tejas, and prevented any further French claims to the region. (2015) |
